Children find security in the darnedest things

My mother has always had a penchant for moving. When that option isn t available, she seems to satisfy her need for new surroundings by rearranging the furniture.

So it didn t surprise me when one of my sons told me that the minute my mother walked into the house for a recent visit, she immediately got to work straightening every picture hanging on the walls.

I didn t care. He was unexplainably offended, for reasons that later became clear.

I was working when my parents, my sister and her family left last week. Later that day, I spoke to my sister from home.

Over the phone, she asked almost immediately and with obvious hope of my approval what do you think of your living room?

I looked around, saw that two easily liftable chairs had switched places, and wondered if her life hadn t gotten a bit dull given her level of enthusiasm over a minor furniture rearrangement.

I later found out she and my mother had created a whole new room design, which I could only imagine as I had seen none of it for myself.

Once the company was gone and the coast was clear, my youngest son had taken it upon himself to restore everything to its original place.

He was very disturbed by the new arrangement, he told us. Everyone had a good laugh at his expense; my sister told him that he needed to embrace change.

I m not sure it s within his power to do so.

He is such a fan of the status quo that a few years ago, he was loathe to have us cast off an old Ford Taurus station wagon whose inadequacies and mechanical failings were so numerous they once filled every inch of this column space.

I thought his fear of change was unusual, as kids growing up in this fast-paced age of constant technological breakthroughs and short attention spans are said to be always on the alert for something new.

But a friend this week said her daughters have displayed similar tendencies.

My friend once replaced a grubby old robe after about 10 years of hard use. Even though the new garment was quite similar to the old, her youngest daughter dug the old robe out of the garbage and kept it in her room.

The girl s only explanation for the strange behavior was that she didn t like change.

Another daughter once would not allow the disposal of a well-used dish drainer upon the purchase of a new one. My friend stored it in a closet to appease her daughter, and after a reasonable amount of time had passed, she snuck it out of the house.

These aren t kids living anchorless, unstable lives, needing to cling desperately to the familiar. My son, in his not-so-short life, has lived in one house, and attended one school and one church.

As a parent, you have to wonder what the future holds for a boy who is thrown for a loop by a new furniture configuration.

The good news is, that even change-challenged children can adapt. The girl with the unusual attachment to an ordinary kitchen item spent a high-school semester in South America and is now thriving in the exotic climate of Missoula.

And I have the feeling that my son will not turn away the chance to play The Sims on the new computer that will soon replace his current deterioriating mess of circuitry despite itssimilarities to his beloved Taurus.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.